Page 72 of Relentless Oath

The weight of her hand was the opposite of the weight I felt in my heart. My heart felt heavy. Each breath I took felt heavy. I’d done this to her. To the woman I was starting to love.

I didn’t know when my obsession had changed to something more. But it had. And it had changed me. I didn’t know what to do about it.

This was new to me, caring about someone so deeply. My mother was the only person I had ever cared about. Her death had taken something from me.

Love, feelings, and emotions—they weren’t part of my life anymore.

Something had changed in me, though. I looked down at Mya’s face and stroked her hair. She had changed me.

This woman, this annoying, stubborn, vengeful woman, had found a place in my heart.

When I married her, it was so that she could be mine. But now I saw that I was hers.

I looked over at her and my eyes came to rest on her stomach. My hand shook as I laid it against the hospital gown, wondering if my little girl could feel my hand resting against her mother’s belly.

I couldn’t remember how far along the doctors had said she was, but it did something to me to know that she was in this state, pregnant with my child.

It was a wonder that I couldn’t really wrap my head around.

I need to do better. I need to be better.

The words echoed in my head, and I knew I believed them.

This kid of ours was going to be my “do-over”. I would create a life for my child, for Mya, that wasn’t full of violence, secrecy, and death.

I didn’t know how, but I would.

“I swear to you, Mya. Things will be different.”

She didn’t say a word. Her face relaxed, but her eyes were still tightly closed. Without thinking, I traced a hand down her cheek. She was something…my Mya.

There was a lot that I needed to do, much that I needed to change.

My eyes rested on her meager belongings that were folded up in a chair. Her bag, her clothes, her underwear, and a crumpled piece of paper.

I frowned. I walked over to where the piece of paper was and picked it up. Instantly, I recognized the number scribbled across it.

Without thinking, I wadded up the paper and reached for my phone. I glanced at Mya and stepped toward the door, not wanting to leave her, but not wanting her to hear what I had to say.

When Joseph picked up, I said, “Find Dr. Kali. He’s interfered too much. I need you to take care of him.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Mya

Fear was my constant companion.

I never knew how it felt to be so afraid for someone else. I still felt chills down my spine, “…take care of him.”

I saw him pick up the note. I only pretended to be asleep. I was awake as soon as I had felt his hand on my face. The only reason I hadn’t opened my eyes was because I hadn’t wanted him to stop touching me.

I felt conflicted, wanting his touch, his care, but also finding myself unable to trust him.

Some days, I felt trapped, and on other days, I felt like maybe I should give in, be the person he needed me to be. It would be easier that way.

I could let go of my anger toward him and his family, and just embrace life as his wife. Would that have been so bad? He was a complicated individual, but that didn’t make him my enemy, right?

I didn’t know if I was trying to make myself feel better for slowly developing feelings for a man I should have hated or if I was finding a reason to connect with the man whose child I was pregnant with.

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